Hazleton City Hall drop box location nixed

Luzerne County won’t have a mail ballot drop box inside Hazleton City Hall for the Nov. 8 general election due to issues with surveillance, and it’s unclear if a replacement can be identified and secured in time, the county Election Board learned Wednesday.

The county’s new Administrative Services Division Head Jennifer Pecora told the board she visited Hazleton City Hall Tuesday morning to verify the drop box would meet surveillance standards. She said employees indicated the past placement of the box was “problematic” for them, and surveillance would not be consistent as required if the box is moved to other spots inside the building.

Election Board Chairman Denise Williams asked if Pecora, a southern county resident, can find another suitable site in the Hazleton area, mentioning the Hazleton Public Library and Butler Township as possibilities.

Pecora said she will try. Butler Township, where Pecora previously worked as township manager, is not an option because township officials passed an ordinance banning drop boxes in the municipality, she said.

Williams expressed frustration over the late notice hours before Wednesday’s meeting, saying the election bureau had informed the board a few days ago that all previous drop box locations were cleared. The board would have to hold a special meeting if another site is found because the bureau is aiming to send out requested mail ballots by Oct. 14, before the board’s next regularly scheduled meeting on Oct. 17, she said.

Pecora said there was verbal confirmation the Hazleton site would be feasible when an email was sent to the board several days ago, but she wanted to personally verify that everything was in order and was not able to do so until Tuesday. Pecora said she alerted the board as soon as a decision was made that Hazleton City Hall cannot be used.

As it stands, the county will have drop boxes inside the county-owned Penn Place Building in downtown Wilkes-Barre and the Pittston Memorial Library, the Wright Township Volunteer Fire Department and Misericordia University in the Back Mountain.

The absence of a box in the Hazleton area is a concern due to the distance and plan to have boxes in the county’s center and all four directions, Williams said. Efforts to find a replacement could have been initiated in recent days if the administration had inspected the site sooner, she said.

Deputy Election Director Beth McBride said she will attempt to find another southern county site, although there may not be enough time before the general election to review locations and enter into a memorandum ensuring county requirements are met.

The drop box at Hazleton City Hall had the lowest usage, she noted.

Board member Danny Schramm said he doesn’t mind coming in for a special meeting if the bureau finds another location, saying there may be one better than Hazleton City Hall. While an effort should be made before the upcoming general election, Schramm said he would not “beat it to death” and would accept resuming the location search for 2023 elections if necessary.

Surveillance

A board majority approved a resolution Wednesday that includes new drop box video surveillance protocols.

While the county controls surveillance of the Penn Place box, it relies on recordings from the hosts of the other boxes.

Instead of requesting copies of surveillance footage as needed, the county will now collect and store copies of the recordings from each site to ensure the material is retained. When the county retrieves the boxes, each drop box location must now provide recordings for the entire period the drop box was in use on a USB-based backup device supplied by the election bureau, the resolution says.

Board members Williams, Schramm and Audrey Serniak voted for the surveillance resolution. Voting against the action were Jim Mangan and Alyssa Fusaro. Mangan said he believes the county should be extracting the surveillance footage on flash drives each time ballots are collected from the boxes instead of waiting until the end.

Election Bureau Operations Manager Emily Cook said flash drives were an excellent suggestion, but the county information technology department determined one extraction on a larger storage device was warranted.

Poll books

At the board’s request, the election bureau provided more explanation on its decision to switch from electronic to paper poll books for voter sign-in at election polling places Nov. 8.

McBride had announced the change to paper books during the prior election board meeting, saying it would be a test and not necessarily a permanent decision for future elections.

Cook has said a review of data from the last few elections determined the majority of Election Day calls from poll workers involved issues getting the electronic poll books to work, despite training and a written instructional guide.

The county purchased the poll books for $325,000 in 2018, with the promise the equipment would speed up and improve the processing of voters as they enter polling places. Voters signed in with a stylus on a tablet.

Cook told the board Wednesday bureau staff had lengthy discussions about stopping use of the electronic books after the primary because they were informed the books were nearing the end of their five-year shelf life and were advised new ones should be purchased for the general election.

The bureau had been encountering issues with connectors, batteries and other components of the books and did not want to propose a new purchase at this time, she said.

No problems surfaced when the county used paper poll books in the April 6 special election for state representative in the 116th Legislative District, Cook added.

McBride said she would be “very reluctant” to deploy the electronic books in November after warnings they have reached the end of their service life.

Election updates

Sample ballots for the general election have been posted on the election page at luzernecounty.org.

Mandatory public logic and accuracy testing of voting equipment will begin at 10 a.m. Monday in the county’s voter warehouse at 135 Water St. in Wilkes-Barre.

McBride said she will conduct poll worker training the week of Oct. 17.